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The all-electric Kia EV9 GT adds extra performance in addition to the standard offering of an all-wheel drive SUV with a spacious six or seven-seat interior, a brilliant cabin, and modern styling inside and out.
The Kia EV9 is an excellent car in all three of the existing trim levels: ‘Air’, ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’. Now the ‘GT’ model is available, offering more performance; is it possible to improve on the other EV9 models?
The Kia EV9 GT shares the same bold, modern appearance as the other EV9 models, but it gains some detailed exterior visual changes including new 21-inch alloy wheels, neon green brake callipers, and mini-LED lights integrated into the vehicle’s grille. We think it looks excellent in the Pacific Blue colour of our test car.
The EV9 GT measures 5,015mm in length and inside there are three rows of seats, with six or seven-seat options available (six seats for our test car, with the second-row seats able to recline, but they don’t swivel). Four buttons in the boot allow you to electronically lower or raise the second and third row of seats, and the second-row seats can slide forwards and backwards. Both front and rear passengers get their own sunroof, and rear occupants get their own air vents in the ceiling.
With all three rows of seats in use, you still get a decent boot size of 333 litres. This increases to a huge 828 litres with the second row of seats folded. If you fold down the second and third row of seats, you get 2,318 litres of space. This gives the EV9 the potential to be turned into a mini-campervan. This concept had to be tested, and we can confirm that two people can comfortably sleep in the EV9 for wild camping. The EV9 also has a 52-litre front trunk (frunk) for storing the charging cable/s. A really clever feature is the ability to store away the parcel shelf under the boot floor.
The Kia EV9 GT has the same 99.8kWh li-ion polymer battery as other EV9 models, but with a more powerful dual-motor drivetrain. It also has a huge towing capacity of up to 2,500 kg, which is one of the heaviest towing weights for any car – electric or otherwise.
All Kia EV9 models are extremely quiet, refined and comfortable to drive, and the GT adds a more powerful dual-motor, rear-biased all-wheel drive (AWD) powertrain comprised of a 139kW front motor producing 350Nm torque and a more powerful rear motor producing 235kW and 390Nm. The total system output of 501 bhp and 740 Nm delivers extra performance, with a 0 to 62mph acceleration time of just 4.6 seconds. This turn of speed is very useful when passing slow-moving vehicles on A and B-roads.
The EV9 GT is extremely impressive to drive for a car that weighs 2,718 kg; the Electronically Controlled Suspension (ECS) helps with body control while maintaining impressive ride comfort – even with the huge 21-inch alloy wheels. The ECS has a road preview system which predicts the road surface and route using the forward-facing camera and navigation system and adjusts the suspension appropriately. The EV9 GT also has rear self-levelling suspension.
However as well as being heavy, the EV9 is big – long and wide – so it’s not ideal for narrow country roads. As per its GT label, it’s actually ideally suited to being a grand tourer, being extremely effortless, as well as planted to the road, on long motorway journeys. The tyres play a part here: the performance-focused Continental SportContact 6 tyres feature noise absorbing foam to reduce tyre and road noise.
One of the many brilliant physical buttons on the EV9 GT is the Drive Mode button on the steering wheel, which makes it extremely user-friendly to select Eco, Normal or Sport drive modes, and there’s also a neon green button on the steering wheel to initiate GT drive mode, ie. maximum performance (and reduced traction control). Next to the Drive Mode button is a ‘Terrain’ button, with the options of Mud, Snow and Sand. We’re not sure how the EV9 GT would perform in mud, snow or sand with its tyres having such a sporty rather than an off-road tread pattern.
Regenerative braking can be changed between four levels using the steering wheel-mounted paddles, which is the best solution to control regen. However these shifters can also be used to ‘change gear’ thanks to the Virtual Gear Shift (VGS) feature, and when Active Sound Design is also selected, this provides a level of interaction that aims to mimic a traditional 8-speed dual-clutch transmission in an internal combustion engine car. The process of switching on the VGS via the touchscreen is very hidden away; you need to select Settings, then Vehicle, then Drive mode, then VGS. Then you also need to select Active Sound Design via a sub-menu under the Drive mode sub-menu.
The EV9 GT also has other technology to enhance ‘GT handling’ including Electronic Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control (eDTVC), which uses partial braking and motor torque compensation when cornering, braking or slowing the inside wheel to improve grip. An electronic limited slip differential (e-LSD) also actively distributes torque between each wheel, improving high-speed cornering and traction on lower-friction surfaces.
Apart from all of the technology, the driving experience of the EV9 GT is set apart by the driver-focused cabin. We’ve already mentioned the user-friendly Drive Mode, Terrain and GT buttons. If you want to switch off the lane departure warning system, there’s a button on the steering wheel to do that incredibly easily. If you want to switch off the speed warning, you simply press down the volume dial on the steering wheel.
Another amazingly effective (but amazingly simple) feature is a physical button that you press up or down to increase or decrease the cabin temperature. The fan speed can easily be adjusted by another button. To all manufacturers, from China or elsewhere, that hide away all car controls in a touchscreen, please drive a Kia EV9 and learn from the user-friendliness of its cabin.
Of course you also get screens in the EV9; as well as a useful head-up display, there’s a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, a 12.3-inch instrument display, and a 5.3-inch climate display sandwiched between the other two screens. This is one of the very few areas of the EV9 that could be improved, because the climate screen is mostly hidden behind the steering wheel rim. One other issue is the ‘haptic’ buttons under the touchscreen for Home, Map, Search, Media, Custom and Set up which aren’t as user-friendly as traditional physical buttons that give you a proper click as confirmation that you’ve pressed them.
The Kia EV9 GT has an official WLTP combined electric driving range of 316 miles. After a week on test the real-world range averaged 272 miles. Energy consumption (combined) is 2.8 miles/kWh.
The EV9 GT has an 800V platform with a maximum DC ultra-rapid charging rate of 210 kW, which should deliver a 10% to 80% charge in 24 minutes.
The EV9 GT features a heat pump, a front motor Decoupling Actuator System (DAS) which isolates the front motor when cruising at higher speeds to maximise energy efficiency, and vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability which can power external electrical equipment via an adaptor plugged in to the charging socket. There’s also a 3-pin socket in the luggage compartment.
The Kia EV9 GT is priced at £83,845. Our test car had the option of Pacific Blue paint (£750).
The EV9 GT is available in White Pearl as standard, with premium paint options including Aurora Red, Midnight Black, Shadow Grey, Pacific Blue and Panthera Metal.
The Kia EV9 is also available in the trim levels of ‘Air’ (the only model with rear-wheel drive), ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’. The EV9 is available with six or seven seats.
All EV9 models have rear self-levelling suspension, heated and ventilated front seats and outer second-row seats, heated steering wheel, 6 x USB-C charge ports (2 x front, 2 x front seats, 2 x third row) and an 8-year/100,000-mile high-voltage battery warranty.
Prices and specifications correct at time of review
The Kia EV9 is an extremely capable all-rounder in any trim option, but the EV9 GT takes this to the next level. As well as all the interior space with six or seven seats, the brilliant cabin, and the bold, modern exterior styling, the GT adds even more performance. This translates into a genuine electric grand tourer SUV driving experience, with effortless, refined and comfortable progress for mile after mile on long motorway journeys. The driving range and DC charging speed make the EV9 practical to live with. The EV9 GT may not have a price tag that can be described as affordable, but there are rivals out there now, or coming soon, that are considerably more expensive. The Kia EV9 GT is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 10 out of 10.
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Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
